Tag: finished whiskey

  • Maker’s Mark Private Selection “Sweet Bourbon Dreams” Scoresheet & Review

    Maker’s Mark Private Selection “Sweet Bourbon Dreams” Scoresheet & Review

    It’s no secret that I’m a Maker’s Mark fan. Even when the brand frustrates me, they still find a way to win me over, whether with a stellar new product or a cute ambassador gift in time for the holidays. Being a reliable, available, affordable producer of solid wheated bourbon…

  • Michter’s Toasted Barrel Strength Rye (2020) Scoresheet & Review

    Michter’s Toasted Barrel Strength Rye (2020) Scoresheet & Review

    I consider myself a pretty big Michter’s fan. Although their lineup is tragically lopsided in favor of limited releases — many of which are aggressively priced, I usually gravitate toward their profiles. The last few times I covered Michter’s were fairly positive, with the standard US1 bourbon leaving a surprisingly…

  • Maker’s Mark 2022 Wood Finishing Series (BRT-02) Scoresheet & Review

    Maker’s Mark 2022 Wood Finishing Series (BRT-02) Scoresheet & Review

    I’ve grown increasingly jaded towards finished whisky over time. In theory, it’s an interesting—even exciting—idea: Take a mature whisky and dump it into a different, secondary cask for a few weeks, granting it more flavor, dimension, and complexity. However, the sheer volume of bottles using finishing casks has exploded to…

  • Maker’s Mark 2022 Wood Finishing Series (BRT-01) Scoresheet & Review

    Maker’s Mark 2022 Wood Finishing Series (BRT-01) Scoresheet & Review

    2021 was the year I visited Kentucky for the first time—I probably don’t need to tell you what I did. During that trip, I visited almost a dozen distilleries. Since the state welcomes many people throughout the globe, there was no shortage of inquiries throughout the tours and tastings. Of…

  • Chattanooga Port Cask Scoresheet & Review

    Chattanooga Port Cask Scoresheet & Review

    Few names in whiskey seem to spark a balance between fun and quality quite like Chattanooga Whiskey. 2022 was the distillery’s tenth year of operation, which was commemorated with a graciously priced LE. Nice as that release was, the Tennessee producer elicited raised eyebrows in other ways, including the introduction…

  • Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength Scoresheet & Review

    Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength Scoresheet & Review

    Maker’s Mark frequently finds its way into my collection. Their core lineup is available, affordable, and of competent quality, yet they’re hardly in rarefied company these days. Much of the interest surrounding Maker’s Mark from present-day whisky lovers can be traced back to the introduction of Maker’s Mark 46. The…

  • Good Old Times Cigar Blend Scoresheet & Review

    Good Old Times Cigar Blend Scoresheet & Review

    Good Times is a brand I had absolutely no intention of adding to my review portfolio. The name is a bit on the obscure side, to the point I’m sure some observers have thought “oh, they meant Early Times.” But Good Times is something else. No, really, even the producing…

  • Hinch 10-Year Sherry Cask Finish Scoresheet & Review

    Hinch 10-Year Sherry Cask Finish Scoresheet & Review

    The potential to find whiskey brands we’re unfamiliar with has reached staggering heights. If shopping a big box store like Total Wine or Liquor Barn doesn’t demonstrate this, then a quick glance at Comingwhiskey will. One could compare a liquor store to a library, given the sheer volume of bottles…

  • Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Batch 97 Scoresheet & Review

    Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Batch 97 Scoresheet & Review

    Jos. A. Magnus & Co. (aka Joseph Magnus) is a bit of an outlier in the greater, current whiskey scene. Where other brands release multiple individual bottlings or line extensions, the Joseph Magnus name is mainly home to three expressions: the triple cask finished bourbon, the Murray Hill Club blend,…

  • Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Unforgotten Scoresheet & Review

    Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Unforgotten Scoresheet & Review

    Most of us are familiar with the Boss Ross quote, “we don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” Eddie Russell would likely agree, given he OK’d the original release of Wild Turkey Forgiven in 2013, an allegedly accidental blend of bourbon and rye. Turns out Forgiven was a fondly regarded…

  • Sagamore Spirit Double Oak Scoresheet & Review

    Sagamore Spirit Double Oak Scoresheet & Review

    It’s nigh impossible to be a part of the American whiskey zeitgeist and not be exposed to double oaked bourbon. The idea is simple enough: take aged whiskey and put into another fresh cask for additional aging. A whiskey’s first years in freshly charred (and toasted) barrels are generally considered…

  • Wheeler’s Raid Toasted Honey Rye Elixir Spirits Pick Scoresheet & Review

    Wheeler’s Raid Toasted Honey Rye Elixir Spirits Pick Scoresheet & Review

    American history holds no shortage of interesting stories. This reality isn’t lost on whiskey producers, as entire brands and individual expressions alike often pay homage to these very tales. Many of the larger, more established brands honor significant individuals and points in history pertaining to whiskey in some way, shape,…